Early boarding of passengers in autonomous vehicles
First Claim
1. A method of actively looking for an assigned passenger prior to a vehicle reaching a pickup location, the method comprising:
- receiving, by one or more processors, information identifying the pickup location and client device information for authenticating the assigned passenger;
receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data from a perception system of the vehicle identifying objects in an environment of the vehicle;
when the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the pickup location, attempting, by the one or more processors, to authenticate a client device using the client device information;
when the client device has been authenticated, using, by the one or more processors, the sensor data to determine whether a pedestrian is making progress towards the vehicle by;
using the sensor data to determine that the pedestrian is within an area of a ring defined by a first threshold distance from the vehicle;
after determining that the pedestrian is within the area, shrinking the area to a ring defined by a second threshold distance from the vehicle, the second threshold distance being determined based on an expected walking speed of a pedestrian;
receiving updated sensor data from the perception system; and
determining that the pedestrian is making progress towards the vehicle when the updated sensor data indicates that the pedestrian is within the area of the ring defined by the second threshold distance from the vehicle;
when a pedestrian is determined to be making progress towards the vehicle, stopping, by the one or more processors, the vehicle prior to reaching the pickup location to wait for the pedestrian to enter the vehicle; and
after the pedestrian enters the vehicle, maneuvering, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to a destination with the pedestrian as an occupant of the vehicle.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The technology relates to actively looking for an assigned passenger prior to a vehicle reaching a pickup location. For instance, information identifying the pickup location and client device information for authenticating the assigned passenger is received. Sensor data is received from a perception system of the vehicle identifying objects in an environment of the vehicle. When the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the pickup location, authenticating a client device using the client device information is attempted. When the client device has been authenticated, the sensor data is used to determine whether a pedestrian is within a first threshold distance of the vehicle. When a pedestrian is determined to be within the first threshold distance of the vehicle, the vehicle is stopped prior to reaching the pickup location, to wait for the pedestrian within the first threshold distance of the vehicle to enter the vehicle.
-
Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method of actively looking for an assigned passenger prior to a vehicle reaching a pickup location, the method comprising:
-
receiving, by one or more processors, information identifying the pickup location and client device information for authenticating the assigned passenger; receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data from a perception system of the vehicle identifying objects in an environment of the vehicle; when the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the pickup location, attempting, by the one or more processors, to authenticate a client device using the client device information; when the client device has been authenticated, using, by the one or more processors, the sensor data to determine whether a pedestrian is making progress towards the vehicle by; using the sensor data to determine that the pedestrian is within an area of a ring defined by a first threshold distance from the vehicle; after determining that the pedestrian is within the area, shrinking the area to a ring defined by a second threshold distance from the vehicle, the second threshold distance being determined based on an expected walking speed of a pedestrian; receiving updated sensor data from the perception system; and determining that the pedestrian is making progress towards the vehicle when the updated sensor data indicates that the pedestrian is within the area of the ring defined by the second threshold distance from the vehicle; when a pedestrian is determined to be making progress towards the vehicle, stopping, by the one or more processors, the vehicle prior to reaching the pickup location to wait for the pedestrian to enter the vehicle; and after the pedestrian enters the vehicle, maneuvering, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to a destination with the pedestrian as an occupant of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19, 20)
-
-
11. A system for actively looking for an assigned passenger prior to a vehicle reaching a pickup location, the system comprising one or more processors configured to:
-
receive information identifying a pickup location and client device information for authenticating the assigned passenger; receive sensor data from a perception system of the vehicle identifying objects in an environment of the vehicle; when the vehicle is within a predetermined distance of the pickup location, attempt to authenticate a client device using the client device information; when the client device has been authenticated, use the sensor data to determine whether a pedestrian is making progress towards the vehicle by; using the sensor data to determine that the pedestrian is within an area of a ring defined by a first threshold distance of the vehicle, when the pedestrian is determined to be within the area, shrinking the area to a ring defined by a second threshold distance of the vehicle by decreasing a size of the area over a predetermined period of time based on an expected walking speed of a pedestrian; receiving updated sensor data from the perception system; and determining that the pedestrian is making progress towards the vehicle when the updated sensor data indicates that the pedestrian is within the area of the ring defined by the second threshold distance from the vehicle; when a pedestrian is determined to be making progress towards the vehicle, stop the vehicle prior to reaching the pickup location to wait for the pedestrian to enter the vehicle; and after the pedestrian enters the vehicle, maneuver the vehicle to a destination with the pedestrian as an occupant of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22)
-
Specification